Rossi takes pole for Japan MotoGP

October 15, 2016

Oct 15: Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi stormed to pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix of Japan after clocking the fastest time in qualifying, resuming his campaign to overtake championship leader Marc Marquez.

rossy

The Yamaha man timed 1min 43.954sec at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit Saturday to grab his third pole of the season, as he attempts to close a 52-point gap against Honda's Marquez, who will start from second on the grid after finishing 0.180sec behind the Italian, his closest championship rival.

Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo overcame a spectacular crash earlier in the day and earned the third fastest lap in qualifying to claim a spot on the front row, clocking 0.267sec after his Yamaha teammate.

The second row will be occupied by Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow and Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro.

Rossi said his team had struggled to find the right balance for their machine, while he himself felt weak.

"Before (the Saturday afternoon practice) we did a great job as a team, we found a good balance. It will be important to start from pole," he said.

"I am not at 100 percent. I am quite sick and have difficulty breathing," Rossi said. "Race here is always very long and very demanding."

His Yamaha teammate Lorenzo was also content with his performance after being launched from his bike in the morning. He was airlifted to a hospital to check for head trauma but was quickly declared fit for the race.

He was not able to stand up immediately after the crash, with his left leg in particular pain.

After the incident, helped by painkillers and adrenaline, Lorenzo said his bike started to feel better and his lap times began to improve.

"Honestly, I was scared," Lorenzo said of the crash. "All of my body was hurting.

"I am happy with the front row. We have a good potential to fight for a victory tomorrow," Lorenzo said.

His crash came a day after a nasty fall during Friday's practice by Dani Pedrosa, who broke his collarbone and flew back to Spain for an operation.

Marquez said he was gathering momentum on the circuit where he has never won in the premier race category.

The two-time world champion noted Yamaha have traditionally done well on the Honda circuit, known for its stop-and-go layout with a lot of hard braking and acceleration points.

"We are there. We are very close. We are very consistent with our lap time," Marquez said. "We are in the front row. That was our main target."

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Racism has to stop: Paul Pogba pays tribute to George Floyd

News Network

June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Manchester United's Paul Pogba on Monday paid tribute to George Floyd, stressing that violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated and they have to stop.

Pogba took to Instagram to write: "During the past few days I have thought a lot about how to express my feelings about what happened in Minneapolis. I felt anger, pity, hatred, indignation, pain, sadness."

"Sadness for George and for all black people who suffer from racism Every day! Whether in football, at work, at school, Anywhere! This has to stop, once and for all! Not tomorrow or the next day, it has to end today! Violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated," he added.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and other US cities on Tuesday after Floyd, an African-American man, died following his arrest by the four officers.

A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinning 46-year-old Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

The four police officers were fired. Chauvin was also charged with murder and manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

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Thank you for correcting us. Grateful.

This photograph in the above mentioned article is of Floyd Mayweather Jr , the world welterweight & super heavy weight champion & wrongly menitoned as Pogba .

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Are You Not Seeing What’s Happening: Daren Sammy Urges ICC to Stand up Against Racism

News Network

June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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India-China standoff | Vivo not to be title sponsor of IPL-2020

Agencies

August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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